Non-refillable bottle.



C. A. FORD.

NON-REFILLABLE BOTTLE.

APPLICATION nuzn JUNE 19. 1913.

Patented May 25, 1915.

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C. A. FORD.

NON-REFILLABLE BOTTLE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 19. 1913.

1 1Q52 Patented May 25, 1915.

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UNITED TATE PATENT @FFTQE.

CHARLES A. FORD, 0F NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO FORD MANUFACTURING COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

NON-REFILLABLE BOTTLE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 25, 1915.

Application filed June 19, 1913. Serial No. 774,595.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES A. FORD, citizen of the United States, residing at Newark, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Non-Refillable Bottles, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in non-refillable bottles, and has for its object to provide a device of this character which embodies novel features of construction whereby it is impossible to force any liquid into the bottle or container without such breakage of the parts as will clearly indicate that the contents of the bottle have been tampered with, but which will enable the liquid contents of the bottle to be readily poured out of the same in the usual manner.

A further object of the invention is to provide a non-refillable bottle which is peculiarly designed so that the various parts thereof can be cheaply manufactured and easily assembled, which is compact in its construction and does not require any part of the bottle to be made larger than usual, and which admits of the bottles being packed and shipped in the usual manner.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in certain novel combinations and arrangements of the parts as will more fully appear as the description proceeds, the novel features thereof being pointed out in the appended claims.

For a full understanding of the invention, reference is to be had to the following description and accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view through a bottle neck provided with a valve construction embodying the present invention, the said view being taken on the line 11 of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sec tional view on the line 22 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view on the line 33 of Fig. 1. Fig. & is a similar view on the line of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 1, showing a slight modification of the invention. Fig. 6 is a transverse sectional view on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a similar view on the line 7-7 of Fig. 5. Fig. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view through the upper end of the bottle neck showing a modified construction of the retaining cap, and Fig. 9 is a similar view showing a still further modified form of the retaining cap.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following description and indicated in all the views of the drawings by the same reference characters.

Specifically describing the embodiment of the invention illustrated by Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, the numeral 1 designates the body portion of a bottle or container, and 2 the neck of the same, the said neck being substantially cylindrical in shape and being provided at its outer eXtremitywith the usual bead 3. The neck 2 is contracted at the base thereof to provide a valve seat 4 upon which a ball 5 normally rests by the action of gravity. This ball valve 5 is re tained in position and tampering therein effectually prevented by means of a com bined cage and bathe A. The member A comprises a pair of separate complemental sections 6 which are similar and interchangeable in construction and are adapted to be assembled from opposite sides and then slipped into the bottle neck over the ball valve 5 so as to provide a baiiie and cage for the said valve. Each of the complemental sections 6 of the bafiie A has a skeleton construction and is contracted upon the outer face thereof at 6 and 6 the lower contracted portions 6 of the two sections providing a continuous annular chamber which surrounds the cage 8 within which the ball valve 5 operates, while the upper reduced portions 6 of the two members 6 provide a continuous annular chamber which communicates with the contracted mouth 18 formed at the upper end of the combined battle and cage A, and also communicates with the before mentioned annular chamber through the inclined passages 9 provided by the inclined baffle arms or walls 6.

The cage 8 is formed by corresponding substantially semi-cylindrical depressions in the lower ends of the complemental members 6, the said depressions providing a cylindrical chamber within which the ball valve 5 is adapted to operate. face of each of the complemental members 6 is provided with a transverse slot 10 and these slots 10 have a greater depth than the semi-cylindrical depressions providing the cage 8 and communicate at intermediate The inner 1 points in their length with longitudinal grooves 11 formed in the sides of the cage and extending throughout the entire length thereof. The extremities of the transverse slots 10 communicate with the lower annular chamber surrounding the valvecage and provide passages through which the liquid within the bottle can enter the lower annular chamber when the bottle is inverted and the ball valve 5 falls away from the valve seat 4.

A transverse abutment or baflie 12 is provided immediately under the contracted mouth 18 of the member A, the said transverse abutment being shown as connected to the top of the valve cage 8 by means of a comparatively thin and transversely disposed web portion 13. The inclined baflie arms 6 are located upon opposite sides of the web portion 13 and the extremities of the corresponding arms 6 of the two members 6 abut against each other when the members are assembled within the bottle neck so as to provide a substantially continuous frusto-conical baflle wall between the valve cage 8 and the transverse abutment 12, the said substantially frusto-conical bailie wall being more clearly illustrated by Figs. 1 and 4- The lower end of the member A is formed with an annular enlargement 6 which fits accurately within the interior of the bottle neck and is adapted to rest upon the contracted base of the bottle neck. The intermediate portion of the member A is also provided with the annular enlargement 6 which fits accurately within the interior of the bottle neck,and in a similar manner the outer end of the member A is enlarged at 6 so as to fit accurately within the interior of the bottle neck. It will thus be obvious that after the two complemental sections 6 of the baffle member A have been assembled and slipped into the bottle neck, the annularly enlarged portions 6, 6 and 6 thereof will cooperate with the inner walls of the bottle neck to retain the members 6 in coiiperative relation to each other.

The combined cage and baffle member A may be retained in position by means of a cap 15 applied to the extremity of the bottle neck 2. As indicated by Figs. 1 and 2, this cap 15 may be formed of glass and is provided with a central opening corresponding to the mouth 8 of the member A, the said opening being surrounded by an inwardly projecting annular flange 16 which is received within an annular seat 17 formed in the mouth 18 of the baflie A. A suitable washer member 18* may be arranged in the seat 17 to providea tight joint between the cap and the baffle member so that there will be no danger of the liquid entering the space between the cap and the end of the bottle neck. The periphery of the cap 15 is surrounded by an annular flange 19 which fits snugly over the exterior of the bottle neck, the edge of the said peripheral flange 19 being adapted to be softened by the application of heat thereto and then turned under the bead 3 of the bottle neck as indicated at 20. The combined cage and baflie member A is then retained securely in position within the bottle neck so that it is impossible to remove the same ortamper with the valve without breaking some of the parts so as to clearly indicate that the bottle has been tampered with. 1

When the bottle is in an upright'position the ball valve 5 rests upon'the valve seat 4 so as to prevent entry of any-liquid into the bottle. However, when the bottle is inverted the ball 5 will fall away from the j 5 will drop back upon the valve seat A and all efl'orts'to tamper with the same by means of a wire or the like will be unavailing, since the transverse table or abutment 12 cooperates with the frusto-conical baffle 6 to provide a circuitous path between the mouth 18 and the cage 8.

A slight modification is shown in Fig. '5

in which the baflie members 6 are substituted for the baffle members 6 These baffle members 6 are formed with upper and lower inclined faces which converge inwardly away from the walls. of the bottle neck and have a spaced and opposed relation to the web 13 which connects the transverse table or abutment 12 and the upper edge of the cage 8. The construction is otherwise substantially the same, and the operation and manner of assembling the parts identical.

The retaining cap 21 shown by Fig. 5 is preferably formed of glass and has accutral opening arranged opposite the mouth 18 of the baffle member and surrounded by an outwardly projecting nipple 22. The outer periphery of the cap 21 is formed with the flange 23 which fits over the exterior of the outer end of the bottle neck and has the.

edge thereof softened by the application of heat thereto and bent inwardly under the bead 3 of the bottle neck as indicated at'2 l so as to retain the cap in position.

A further modification of retaining cap is shown by Fig. 8, in which a glass cap 25 is fitted against the end of the bottle neck so as to hold the baflie members in position therein, the said glass cap being in turn held in position by means of a metallic ring 26. This metallic ring is formed with an annular flange 27 which fits around the exterior of the mouth of the bottle neck and is adapted to have the edge thereof crimped under the bead 3 of the bottle neck so as to retain the parts in position.

A still further modification of retaining cap is shown by Fig. 9, in which the numeral 29 indicates a cap similar to the cap 15 of Fig. 1, with the exception that the edge of the inwardly projecting flange 30 surrounding the central opening thereof is provided with a tongue 31 adapted to cooperate with a corresponding depression in the seat 32 at the mouth 18 of the battle members to lock the said baflie members against rotation about their longitudinal axes. As in the previous instance, washer member 33 may be interposed between the base of the seat 32 and the edge of the flange 30 so as to provide a tight joint between the said members, although this washer is not entirely neces sary and may be eliminated if desired.

In using the non-refillable bottle, the bottle or container is designed to be first filled in the usual manner. The ball valve 5 is next dropped upon the valve seat A and two of the complemental battle members 6 then properly assembled and slipped into the bottle neck, the said members serving as has been previously described to provide a cage for the ball valve and also to provide battle members which will effectively prevent tampering with the valve. After the battle members have been inserted in position, the retaining cap is applied to the extremity of the bottle neck and permanently secured in position, either by crimping the edges thereof around the bead 3 of the bottle neck, or by using a separate metallic ring and crimping the edges of the ring around the base of the bead of the bottle neck. This cap can not be removed without either breaking some of the parts or leaving marks which would clearly indicate that the bottle has been tampered with, and the usual stopper may be inserted in the opening of the cap when the bottle is not in use. With the inwardly projecting flange construction shown by Figs. 1, 2 and 9, the stopper is prevented from projecting an objectionable distance beyond the bottle neck and a compact construction thereby obtained.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A non-refillable bottle including a bottle neck having a contracted portion forming a valve seat, a valve resting upon the valve seat, a substantially cylindrical cage member slipped into the bottle neck over the &

valve and divided longitudinally to provide complemental semi-cylindrical sections adapted to be assembled from opposite sides, the said sections being provided at the lower ends thereof with corresponding depressions to provide a cage for the reception of the valve, longitudinal grooves being provided at the sides of the said depressions, and transverse grooves being formed in the meeting faces of the semi-cylindrical sections, said transverse grooves cooperating with each other to provide transverse outlet passages leading from the cage and communicating with the longitudinal grooves, and means for retaining the cage member in position.

2. non-refillable bottle including a bottle neck formed with a contracted portion providing a valve seat, a valve resting upon the valve seat, a cage member slipped into the bottle neck and divided longitudinally to provide complemental semi-cylindrical skeleton sections, said skeleton sections being formed at intervals with exterior annular enlargements engaging the interior of the bottle neck to hold the sections in operative position, the lower ends of the skeleton sections being formed with corresponding depressions to provide a cage for the valve, while the upper portions of the skeleton sections are formed upon their opposed faces with corresponding sinuous grooves adapted to provide sinuous passages connecting the annular chambers provided by the before mentioned exterior annular enlargements upon the interior of the bottle neck.

3. A non-refillable bottle including a bottle neck formed with a contracted portion providing a valve seat, a ball resting upon the valve seat, a skeleton cage slipped into the bottle neck and divided longitudinally to provide complemental semi-cylindrical sections adapted to be assembled from opposite sides thereof, the said cage being formed upon the exterior thereof with a series of annular enlargements engaging the interior of the bottle neck to hold the sections in operative position, and the base of the cage member being formed with a valve receiving chamber and transverse outlet passages leading from the valve chamber, a transverse abutment being formed opposite the mouth of the cage and the body of the cage being contracted under the abutment and provided with a substantially frusto-conioal baffle, and means for retaining the cage member in position.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES A. FORD. /Vitnesses:

JOHN J. LEDWITH, HENRY Bossn'r.

Gopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of 'Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

